Horse Race Yarn…
A “true yarn”? … about a few guys from 6 Platoon B Coy. June 1969. in Vietnam
But the title for this yarn is really about about our then, lanky mate… Hope you follow the Jargon
…………….“Robbo”………………….…The players………… Peter “Robbo”Roberts,TrevorCarter,Bill O’Mara
Pete Pezet and eventually the …
Commanding Officer : Ghangis Khan.We had only been back at Nuidat base camp a few days after the Battle of Binh Ba… June 6th 1969.
Friday night after the boozer closes “Robbo” and a few others returned to his tent to continue with the “supply” in the trunk under his bed.
By late Saturday morning “Robbo” is in a sorry state, but still alive. Pete Pezet suggests that he walk it off and “O’Mara, you go with him”. Just as well, as he needed steering along the road past BHQ and of course if I hadn’t been with him I wouldn’t be able to tell you all that happened. Robbo was determined to get a bet on with one of the bookies.
The first bloke we spot was Trevor Carter as he was coming out of the Chapel…I think Trev had been to confession again. Robbo yells out to him.. “Hey Trev, got any good tips for me today?” The best tip I have for you Robbo is Lunch, replies Trev..
“Lunch ?” Robbo says to me. “Never heard of it…must be a bloody 2 year old”.
I suggested we go down to A Coy. And he can look up the bookie. As we near their kitchen, Robbo spots a sign out front that says… “Lunch 12 to 1” Jeez says Robbo, that’s the sorter odds I like. We couldn’t find the bookie anywhere. So I said “let’s try Charlie Coy”. Robbo readily agrees, and off we go in search of their bookie.
As we get closer to Charlie Coy. lines, Robbo spots another sign …“Lunch 11 to 2”.
“Bloody hell” says Robbo. “ Their backing the damn thing in, … maybe Trev knows something”. “I gotta get a descent bet on, this could be me chance to clean up” says Robbo. Needless to say..not a bookie in sight and Robbo is not happy.I finally convinced him that if he tries really hard, maybe we could get back to our lines at B Coy. without him falling over. With me, at around 9 stone ringing wet…I wouldn’t be able to carry him. So, to his credit we were almost back at B Coy, when we spot yet another sign that says “Lunch 1 to 2”. “Oh no…will you look at that…the bloody thing is at odds on, Jeez their goes me chance to make a fortune” says Robbo.
Sadly, he slides down the sandbags at the boozer and wails loudly of his “loss”. He was abusing, swearing and cursing every bookie not in sight at the Dat, for not being where they should be on a Saturday morning, that’s, bloody annoying. His loud noise attracts the attention of a couple of MP’s who decide to march…almost carried… him off to front Ghangis (the CO) for being drunk and disorderly.
Ghangis, being a fair minded CO, instructs the MP’s to lock him up for a few hours and that he wouldn’t charge a man who was in such a state. Robbo asks Ghangis .. “I want to know about Lunch?”. Ghangis says “Sober up first Robbo”.. Forget about Lunch.
“Sober Up” First? says Robbo. “ That bloody Trevor didn’t know what he was talking about…thank God I didn’t back Lunch.
Bill O’Mara
Thanks for the memories Guys..
Bill O’Mara
Real Estate,Mortgages,Share Market Strategies.
[email protected]
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
